Epidemics and Pandemics
By Charlotte Stace
The sudden onset of the pandemic put us into a desperate situation. Feelings of total despair, uncertainty and bewilderment have been felt across the world over the last year. This has led to many of us wondering, how did past societies cope with previous pandemics? The Museu d'Història de Catalunya’s latest exhibition attempts to explore this question.
The earliest known evidence of a possible epidemic dates back to late Neolithic Europe, with the discovery of the bubonic plague. In ancient Greece and Rome, society had already begun to develop medical knowledge to detect disease and how to prevent it from spreading. Yet, despite this, many believed that epidemics were punishment from the Gods, or the results of the conjunction of the stars or certain atmospheric phenomena, well into the 18th century.
Let this exhibition take you on a journey through time and space to discover how we can learn from the past, to help ourselves in the present.